Program of Study | Educational Psychology

Outline of Events for Doctoral Students

Register for the first semester of study: When you were admitted to your doctoral program, you were assigned a temporary advisor. Familiarize yourself with the Curriculum webpage and then contact your advisor to select courses for your first semester of study. Your advisor will then clear you to register. Aim to register for first semester classes as soon as you can. Students typically are allowed to register for courses once their final transcript has arrived at UGA.
Select a Thesis Committee: Students who enter the program Fall 2006 and after are required to complete a master’s thesis. (If you are in the Ph. D. program and entered the program before Fall 2006, then you must be a major contributing author on a potentially publishable manuscript.) During your first semester, begin to map out your initial program of study and think about whom you want to work with as your thesis committee chair/major professor. A non-Department faculty member may serve as your major professor upon agreement of the Program Coordinator. You also need to identify other faculty to serve on your thesis committee. Once you have settled on a major professor, you should file a Preliminary Program of Study, which will include the members of your thesis committee. This should be submitted to the Graduate Coordinator.Your thesis committee will consist of a major professor and at least two additional members, for a total of three members. At least two members of the thesis committee must have Graduate Faculty Status and at least one member must be a part of the School Psychology Program Faculty. If you choose to have co-chairs, all three members must have Graduate Faculty Status. Once you have settled on the members of your committee, file the Committee Membership form with the Graduate Coordinator, who will forward it to the Graduate School.
Complete and Defend the Master’s Thesis: The School Psychology Faculty views the master’s thesis as the first piece of first-authored, potentially publishable research that a student will complete as part of their doctoral program of study. Thus, the master’s thesis should be written in a format that is suitable (or nearly so) for submission to a peer-reviewed journal within a few weeks of the oral defense. (Of course, the master’s thesis must also adhere to Graduate School guidelines for submission to the Graduate School.)
Sit for the Written and Oral Comprehensive Examination: You must plan for and take written and oral comprehensive examinations on course content (see the Comprehensive Exam webpage for detail). Dates for your comprehensive exams must be discussed with and agreed upon by your advisor; typically, students admitted in Fall 2008 and after sit for the written portion of the examination during May-session of in the third year of the doctoral program. (This schedule might differ for those students entering the program with prior training at the graduate level.)The oral examination will occur after the written exam has been passed. It must be scheduled through the Graduate Coordinator at least three weeks prior to the date it should take place. The Graduate School will send the appropriate form for recording the results of your written and oral examinations to the Department’s Degree Program Assistant. This form must be returned to the Department’s Degree Program Assistant, to be forwarded back to the Graduate School, after all committee members have verified the test results.
Select a Doctoral Committee: Your doctoral committee will consist of a major professor or two co-major professors, plus additional members so your committee is comprised of at least four members. At least three members of the advisory committee must have graduate faculty status, at least one member must be a part of the School Psychology Program Faculty, and at least one member’s primary affiliation must be from outside of the School Psychology Program. If you choose to have co-chairs, all four members must have graduate faculty status. Once you have settled on the members of your doctoral committee, file the Committee Membership form with the Graduate Coordinator, who will forward it to the Graduate School.After your doctoral committee is developed, you should construct a Final Program of Study of all relevant course work (including internship or clinic hours, etc.) which has been or will be taken to satisfy degree requirements. After committee approval, the Final Program of Study must be submitted to the Graduate Coordinator to be forwarded to the Graduate School.
(Changing Major Professors or Making Changes to the Thesis/Doctoral Committee: Along the way, you may need to make changes to your thesis and/or doctoral committee. These must be reflected in a revised Committee Membership form turned in to the Graduate Coordinator and forwarded to the Graduate School. It is recommended that you speak with a committee member when you have decided to remove him/her from your committee, but you are required to notify that person in writing, at a minimum. Should you need to change your major professor/advisor, you are responsible for selecting a new major professor and informing your former one about the change. Inform the Program Coordinator when you have changed advisors.)
Defend the Dissertation Prospectus: After all requirements have been completed, you must prepare and defend a dissertation prospectus. Once your prospectus has been satisfactorily defended, committee approval must be filed with the Department. You may be admitted as a doctoral candidate only after satisfactory defense of your prospectus. You must file the Admission to Candidacy form to the Graduate Coordinator to be forwarded to the Graduate School.
Apply for Internship: In addition to being a student with good standing in the doctoral program, students admitted in Fall 2003 or later must defend their dissertation prospectus before they may apply for internship (see the Practicum and Internship webpage for details).. For students applying for internship through APPIC, the prospectus must be defended by October 15th, in advance of internship application deadlines.
Defend the Dissertation: You must schedule a dissertation defense at least three weeks prior to the desired defense date with the Graduate School through the Graduate Coordinator. At this time you must also verify the membership of your doctoral committee to ensure that it is correctly recorded with the Graduate School. You are responsible for submitting verification of a satisfactory dissertation defense on the Approval Form for Doctoral Dissertation and Final Defense to the Graduate School once the appropriate signatures have been obtained.Final revisions must be approved by your major professor before your dissertation is submitted to the Graduate School. Revisions on your dissertation must be completed by the deadline posted by the Graduate School to complete the requirements necessary for graduation by the end of the desired semester. Additionally, the dissertation must be defended and the approval page must be signed by your major professor before the document is presented to the Graduate School for approval.
Graduate! No later than the Friday of the second full week (first full week for Summer semester graduates) of classes during the semester you intend to graduate, you must apply for graduation with the Graduate School at the Enrolled Student Services Office (Graduation Office) by filling out the Application for Graduation. The deadlines for applying for graduation are set by and posted by the Graduate School. These dates are fixed, so please take note of them! Please note that the graduation application will be enforced! No petitions will be accepted unless the reason is beyond the student’s control.